Ishka's head-piece for this episode was based on that worn by Wallace Shawn as Zek, and was designed to look almost caricature-like, with drooping lobes and large jowls. For the scene when her knees are seen, makeup supervisor Michael Westmore even designed drooping kneecaps. For the shot where her shoulders and the top of her chest were exposed, Westmore didn't have time to create a proper foam-latex appliance, so he rubberized Kleenex, and wrinkled it, laying it across Andrea Martin's shoulders and on the upper portion of her chest. According to Westmore, Martin was not amused by the makeup.
This episode features the first appearances of three characters who would subsequently become more important: Kasidy Yates, Ishka, and Brunt. It also features the first appearance of Ferenginar and first reference to the Ferengi Commerce Authority (FCA).
Kasidy mentions her brother lives and plays baseball on Cestus III, which had previously appeared in the Original Series episode "Arena". The fact that there's once again human colonists living on the planet suggest the Federation and the Gorn Hegemony finally put aside their differences in the interim between the two episodes. The baseball team he plays for is called the 'Pike City Pioneers', presumably named after the character of Captain Christopher Pike from the original Star Trek pilot "The Cage".
This show originated from Ira Steven Behr's desire to do a more serious Ferengi episode than had ever been seen in Star Trek up to this point, and both cast and crew feel that Behr succeeded in this aim. Armin Shimerman calls it "a very heartfelt psychological study.
Quark's mother saves his old childhood action figures, which happen to be re-dressed Ferengi action figures from Playmates' TNG action figure line of the mid-90s. Quark's figures would make another appearance in the fifth season episode "Ferengi Love Songs"